5J World War 1 Poetry

The children in 5J have recently completed a unit of work inspired by the picture book War Game by Michael Foreman. They also looked at some poems written at the time of the war. Below are a selection of the fantastic poems written by the children from their selected viewpoint.

Miss Lucy Jones

Samiah

Saving my country, fighting for survival, this nightmare never ends.

On and off goes the war.

Life passes by, seeing dropping bodies right in front of my eyes.

Dirty, waiting in the muddy trenches to win the war.

I want to win the war, it’s the only way to keep my family safe.

Exhausting days.

Reading letters from home, I miss my family so much.

Asher

War Home

I miss my family,

I hope I can go home soon,

This feels like hell.

I have to end this war,

I have to get home safely,

This needs to end now.

Hollie

When I wake I hear the roar of bombs and people being killed.

Once in a lifetime we met up with the Germans on Christmas Day.

Running and running, trying to stay safe, thinking of my family back in Suffolk.

Looking around at all the other men that have been shot; poppies growing.

Doing my best to win the war; dodging the bullets that fly towards me.

When will this war end?

As I look over the trench I see a Christmas tree; hope?

Rain, bringing in the misery, water round my knees.

Zaynah and Mollie

BANG! BANG! BANG!

I woke up. The war continued. People roared. People killed.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Blood trickles. Face hurts. Yesterday’s fight.

POP! POP! POP!

Germans. Germans pushing forwards. Germans coming towards us.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

As one I am weak. Together we are strong.

BOOM!

Kinza and Sam M.

The war is beginning,

Armies are firing everywhere,

Over 40 dead this morning alone.

Running to dodge bullets,

I think of my family,

Death rises upon us.

Fate catches up in time,

The clock of death is ticking,

Towards the unlucky victims.

Eshaani and Denni

Waiting for the missing,

Over Flanders Fields poppies grow.

Racing upon the hill, soldiers fall to the ground,

Laying on the hilltops are bodies of warriors,

Deep, damp trenches are waiting to empty,

Waiting into dawn,

Around midnight, the war was nearly over,

Ready for a break,

Over the years millions died who never shot,

Never ending, the war goes on,

Everyone wants an end.Mateo

No War!

Came to serve,

Came to fight,

Cam to battle Germany day and night.

I know England wants to win,

But after the truce I don’t want to fight,

I want us and the enemy to have a silent night.

Thinking thought over guns, bombs and din,

I long to see my wife Fiona and my son Fin,

I know I have to fight for my country,

For my King,

For your tomorrow night.

Came to serve,

Came to fight,

Came to battle Germany day and night.

Nikhil

I miss my family,

I hope I can go home soon,

It feels like hell,

I have been shot in the leg,

Shot in the chest,

Shot in the heart.

I have to do this,

Fighting for our country,

Fighting for my family.

Ben

Here I am, sitting in my chair,

Writing about World War One,

I never imagined this nightmare.

If I could destroy part of time, it would be World War One.

At the start I felt excitement,

Me and my brothers were off to the war.

1 of my brother’s is left now.

He is shot,

He is left alone on the snow,

I can’t pull him back.

I am the only one left.

Harley

A stream of dead men flood the field.

They fell with others from their country.

People are waiting for the nightmare to end.

For the flood to pass,

For the stream to dry,

For the nightmare to no longer be real.

Saif and Sam C.

The war has hit me hard,

The army has been torn apart,

My friends are dead,

I miss my bed,

But I must fight instead.

Bombs like alarms,

Signalling harm,

I miss my bed,

But I must fight instead.

Charlotte

There’s no hope, but still I wait at the door.

He’s still out there, fighting in the war.

I’m ready for him, early or late.

I’m ready to hear his knock on the gate.

Does he remember his beloved brothers?

No, he’s in the trench, adopted by others.

He’s still out there, fighting in the war.

Kayden

Waiting for my dad to return

Waiting at home,

For my dad to return,

Location unknown,

I want him to come home.

Waiting at home,

For my dad to return,

My family are scared,

Waiting all night, unable to sleep.

Waiting at home,

For my dad to return,

Hoping not to receive a letter,

Saying he’s gone, forever.

Please, please, please,

Come home soon,

So I’m no longer waiting at home,

For my dad to return.

Aimee

Waiting and waiting, never going home,

Over Flanders Fields poppies grow.

Racing upon the hill, the soldiers fell,

Laying on the ground bodies multiply,

Dying men, I can’t escape,

Waiting and waiting, never going home,

At night we fight,

Roar, the wind blows your luck away,

On and on, will it ever end?

No one is going home,

Everyone has gone.

Jasmine

I wait

I wait, I wait, I wait.

I wait for the letter to arrive,

The letter saying my love is dead.

Will it be true?

Will he be dead?

Fighting on my own,

Fighting all alone,

No one here, no one at home.

I wait, I wait, I wait,

I wait for the letter to arrive.

Amrit

Some people

Some people wanted peace,

Some people didn’t care,

Some people died,

Some people were scared,

Some people didn’t know what to do,

Some people carried on,

But some people fought for their country.

Bethany

Saving my country makes me proud,

On and off goes the war.

Lives passed, bodies toppled like snowmen,

Dirty and cold, hidden in the trenches.

I’ll carry on the best I can,

Endless and mindless, I shoot to kill,

Realising, only now, what this war has done to me.

Jacob

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but I can still go fight.

Why, oh why, do you have to go?

Why can’t you stay at home?

I see light travelling through, the bullets, the blazes the bombs.

Why, oh why, do you have to go?

Why can’t you stay at home?

Trenches stretch for miles, lines and lines, bodies pilling high.

Why, oh why, do you have to go?

Why can’t you stay at home?

Fighting and feuding has broken my bones, should have listened and stayed at home.

Sophie, Malaika and Aarzu

Guns? Check.

Bombs? Check.

The enemy marching up ahead.

No Man’s Land is filled with death.

My heart is overflowing with dread.

Poppies? Check.

Crosses? Check.

Graves are made for the dead.

Callum

The poppies fled from top to bottom, engulfing Flanders field almost whole,

Dark memories and visions of the dead will never leave a soldier’s soul.